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The Real Hoosiers: Crispus Attucks High School, Oscar Robertson, and the Hidden History of Hoops
The true story behind Crispus Attucks High School and the all‑Black basketball team loosely depicted as the championship opponent in the beloved classic sports movie Hoosiers , pulling back the curtain on the unheralded underdog playing the game at the highest level in the 1950s in a racially divided Indiana.
For far too long the storyline of Indiana basketball has been dominated by Hoosiers . Framed as the ultimate underdog, feel‑good story, there has also long been a cultural debate surrounding the film, and The Real Hoosiers sets out to illuminate the narrative absent from the film. This is the story of the real‑life team that inspired the team that most have long assumed was Hickory High’s championship opponent. They were Crispus Attucks, an all‑Black team playing in the 1950s in a racially divided Indiana. Veteran sportswriter and the bestselling author of Dream Team , Jack McCallum, excavates the history of the Crispus Attucks Tigers. After a crushing loss to Milan High School (the real Indiana team Hickory High is based on) in the 1954 semi-final (not the final), Attucks went on to win back‑to‑back Indiana state championships led by a young Oscar Robertson and an African American coach who recognized the seemingly insurmountable challenges of playing basketball in a state that was a bastion not only for the game but also for the Ku Klux Klan.
This is much more than a sports story. The history of Attucks is rich, far beyond the basketball court, and filled with cultural influence and importance. The Real Hoosiers replaces a lacuna in the history of Indiana while dissecting the myths and lore of basketball; placing the game in the context of migration, segregation, and integration; and enhancing our understanding of this country’s struggle for Civil Rights.
For far too long the storyline of Indiana basketball has been dominated by Hoosiers . Framed as the ultimate underdog, feel‑good story, there has also long been a cultural debate surrounding the film, and The Real Hoosiers sets out to illuminate the narrative absent from the film. This is the story of the real‑life team that inspired the team that most have long assumed was Hickory High’s championship opponent. They were Crispus Attucks, an all‑Black team playing in the 1950s in a racially divided Indiana. Veteran sportswriter and the bestselling author of Dream Team , Jack McCallum, excavates the history of the Crispus Attucks Tigers. After a crushing loss to Milan High School (the real Indiana team Hickory High is based on) in the 1954 semi-final (not the final), Attucks went on to win back‑to‑back Indiana state championships led by a young Oscar Robertson and an African American coach who recognized the seemingly insurmountable challenges of playing basketball in a state that was a bastion not only for the game but also for the Ku Klux Klan.
This is much more than a sports story. The history of Attucks is rich, far beyond the basketball court, and filled with cultural influence and importance. The Real Hoosiers replaces a lacuna in the history of Indiana while dissecting the myths and lore of basketball; placing the game in the context of migration, segregation, and integration; and enhancing our understanding of this country’s struggle for Civil Rights.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 13, 2025
When I teach middle grade kids and they have free time on their hands, inevitably we talk about sports, one of the most frequent topics being who is the basketball GOAT, Jordan or LeBron. I am a product of Chicago when Jordan was his Royal Airness so it is pretty much obvious what team I am on. Some kids might say Steph or Kobe if they watched his YouTube videos, but no one mentions players in the generations before Jordan who helped the NBA take off. Of these pioneers, those older than me might say Bill Russell or Jerry West, but few mention Oscar Robertson, the only player in NBA history to average a triple double for an entire season. Robertson having played his college ball in Cincinnati and then for the Cincinnati Kings before they eventually moved to Kansas City and then Sacramento, a book featuring him was on display at my library last year. I passed it up because I had already read a book by the author Jack McCallum last year and I’m one to space out books written by an author in order to savor the material. McCallum loves basketball as much as I love baseball so I know that any hoops book I read by him will be a quality product. As the NBA finals play on, I immersed myself in the life of Oscar Robertson before he became the Big O.
Indianapolis. I “know” it well only because I pass it on the road every time I drive from Cincinnati to Chicago. Being less than two hours away, many people I know go for day trips to the award winning children’s museum or to attend sports events because Indianapolis has professional teams that Cincinnati does not and vice versa, both cities being too small to support all major sports. Going back seventy years traveling from the Queen City to the Brickyard was not as easy as a jaunt up I-74. The expressway linking I-65 and I-75 had not been constructed yet nor had the other two major arteries. What Indiana did have in the 1950s besides cornfields was basketball. The state claimed to be the first to conduct a state tournament and all boys in small towns grew up with dreams of attending Indiana University (IU) (note, Indiana was not the first state to have a high school tournament, Illinois was so there.). When I say boys in small towns; I mean white or Caucasian boys for lack of a better word. Indiana was either the northernmost southern state or southern most northern state and governed by custom not law. The state might have supported the union during the civil war, but many Hoosiers’ sympathies laid with the southern cause and by that I mean being pro segregation and reluctant to pass laws that were becoming the national norm during the later 1950s. As a result, when one thought of an Indiana basketball player, boys thought of Bobby Plump at Milan, the school used for the movie Hoosiers. Good, wholesome Hoosiers neglected to mention the exploits of Oscar Robertson of Crispus Attucks High in Indianapolis, and that is only because Robertson was colored (word used by most Indiana citizens during the era in the book.).
McCallum notes that the Robertson family moved to Indianapolis from Tennessee as part of the Great Migration north. The family could barely afford a shack on the city’s west side but it was a step up from share cropping. Since free blacks began moving to Indianapolis, the west side became their neighborhood, Indiana Avenue their social artery. Everywhere else in town, they were not so politely told to stay out. As separate but equal became the law of the Jim Crow south, Indianapolis school officials saw the need to construct an all black high school over fears of races mixing at integrated schools. The main fear, especially of women, was interracial dating, which, heaven forbid, might lead to marriage. Although a supposed northern state, Indiana was one of the last states to take their miscegenation law off of the books. With these fears in mind, Crispus Attucks High School opened its doors in 1927. The school did not have a gym suitable for hosting sports events but it did have a roster of educated African American teachers hoping to mold the next generation of the talented tenth of black folks, educators taking their best qualities of ideals laid out by both Booker T Washington and WEB DuBois. Although Crispus Attucks was supposed to be an also ran school for impoverished blacks on Indianapolis’ west side, the school flourished.
By the 1950s, Oscar Robertson had come of age and started at Attucks High. He was not the Big O yet but it was obvious to most that even as a sophomore he was the best player in Indiana, maybe the country. Not all people saw it that way because even as the civil rights movement got off the ground, Indiana remained a backward, racist place to live. Journalists touted small white communities as having the best brand of Hoosier ball, and referees most often favored white schools, fouling out Oscar on many occasions, putting Attucks at a disadvantage. In 1954, the year Willie Mays made it hip to be a black athlete, Crispus Attucks lost in a state semifinal game by one point on some dubious calls. The next year, Attucks under the guidance of head coach Ray Crowe and leadership of Robertson had a mission. They sought out to prove that a black man could be an adept head coach and that a team of all black players could win the state tournament, even if the referees and most of the state’s fan base was against them. To put in perspective, at around the time Crispus Attucks first opened its doors, the Ku Klux Klan had a large presence in Indiana, including liaisons on the school board that insisted that the school system remain segregated. In 1930, Marion lynched two young men, and a town mob urged it on. By 1955, little had changed; Crispus Attucks was out to change the narrative.
During the 1955 and 1956 seasons, Crispus Attucks won state twice, losing once in two years on one of those dubious call games. The team did not get feted the way a white school would, and it was only begrudgingly that Robertson won Mr Basketball during his senior year. Writers could not ignore his exploits because he was that good, just not good enough for Indiana’s basketball coach who would rather not have blacks on his team. That is how Robertson ended up at Cincinnati, and along with Bill Russell, Wilt Chanberlain, and Elgin Baylor propelled the NBA to new heights. Robertson always played with a chip on his shoulder. He did not trust the mainstream white authority, going back to his days in high school where his team was treated as second class citizens. He did become the NBA players union president, a role he took on for ten years, but he never developed into a charismatic superstar, always being guarded. Even after he reached the levels of superstardom, some of his early memories were too painful. Robertson declined to be interviewed for this book, and McCallum had to rely on the recollections of others, but he notes that this made the story of Robertson all the more mythological. Robertson would rather forget the painful memories.
As the NBA finals wind down, there is a strong possibility that a team from Indiana could win the championship. I doubt it is a boon for ratings. One player that the NBA neglects to mention in the same sentence as Indianapolis is Robertson, even though he is still probably the best player to come out of the state of Indiana. After leaving Crispus Attucks, he never looked back as he turned himself into the Big O, one of the best players in NBA history. A triple double in an entire season? Even his Royal Airness could not manage that but to be fair it is because many times he did not trust most of his teammates to shoot. Because he remained guarded, Robertson is rarely in the conversation with Jordan, Russell, LeBron, et al as to who is the GOAT although he well should be. Jack McCallum carved out a slice of history during the civil rights movement. He made basketball aficionados aware of events taking place in their own backyards that they may not have known about. It is one thing to write about the exploits of the Dream Team or 73-9 Warriors, but it is another to write about racism from the perspective of a white guy from the east coast. Always a captivating read, McCallum gives insight into Oscar Robertson, one of the NBA’s early superstars. Jordan will always be the GOAT, but Robertson definitely comes close.
4 stars
Indianapolis. I “know” it well only because I pass it on the road every time I drive from Cincinnati to Chicago. Being less than two hours away, many people I know go for day trips to the award winning children’s museum or to attend sports events because Indianapolis has professional teams that Cincinnati does not and vice versa, both cities being too small to support all major sports. Going back seventy years traveling from the Queen City to the Brickyard was not as easy as a jaunt up I-74. The expressway linking I-65 and I-75 had not been constructed yet nor had the other two major arteries. What Indiana did have in the 1950s besides cornfields was basketball. The state claimed to be the first to conduct a state tournament and all boys in small towns grew up with dreams of attending Indiana University (IU) (note, Indiana was not the first state to have a high school tournament, Illinois was so there.). When I say boys in small towns; I mean white or Caucasian boys for lack of a better word. Indiana was either the northernmost southern state or southern most northern state and governed by custom not law. The state might have supported the union during the civil war, but many Hoosiers’ sympathies laid with the southern cause and by that I mean being pro segregation and reluctant to pass laws that were becoming the national norm during the later 1950s. As a result, when one thought of an Indiana basketball player, boys thought of Bobby Plump at Milan, the school used for the movie Hoosiers. Good, wholesome Hoosiers neglected to mention the exploits of Oscar Robertson of Crispus Attucks High in Indianapolis, and that is only because Robertson was colored (word used by most Indiana citizens during the era in the book.).
McCallum notes that the Robertson family moved to Indianapolis from Tennessee as part of the Great Migration north. The family could barely afford a shack on the city’s west side but it was a step up from share cropping. Since free blacks began moving to Indianapolis, the west side became their neighborhood, Indiana Avenue their social artery. Everywhere else in town, they were not so politely told to stay out. As separate but equal became the law of the Jim Crow south, Indianapolis school officials saw the need to construct an all black high school over fears of races mixing at integrated schools. The main fear, especially of women, was interracial dating, which, heaven forbid, might lead to marriage. Although a supposed northern state, Indiana was one of the last states to take their miscegenation law off of the books. With these fears in mind, Crispus Attucks High School opened its doors in 1927. The school did not have a gym suitable for hosting sports events but it did have a roster of educated African American teachers hoping to mold the next generation of the talented tenth of black folks, educators taking their best qualities of ideals laid out by both Booker T Washington and WEB DuBois. Although Crispus Attucks was supposed to be an also ran school for impoverished blacks on Indianapolis’ west side, the school flourished.
By the 1950s, Oscar Robertson had come of age and started at Attucks High. He was not the Big O yet but it was obvious to most that even as a sophomore he was the best player in Indiana, maybe the country. Not all people saw it that way because even as the civil rights movement got off the ground, Indiana remained a backward, racist place to live. Journalists touted small white communities as having the best brand of Hoosier ball, and referees most often favored white schools, fouling out Oscar on many occasions, putting Attucks at a disadvantage. In 1954, the year Willie Mays made it hip to be a black athlete, Crispus Attucks lost in a state semifinal game by one point on some dubious calls. The next year, Attucks under the guidance of head coach Ray Crowe and leadership of Robertson had a mission. They sought out to prove that a black man could be an adept head coach and that a team of all black players could win the state tournament, even if the referees and most of the state’s fan base was against them. To put in perspective, at around the time Crispus Attucks first opened its doors, the Ku Klux Klan had a large presence in Indiana, including liaisons on the school board that insisted that the school system remain segregated. In 1930, Marion lynched two young men, and a town mob urged it on. By 1955, little had changed; Crispus Attucks was out to change the narrative.
During the 1955 and 1956 seasons, Crispus Attucks won state twice, losing once in two years on one of those dubious call games. The team did not get feted the way a white school would, and it was only begrudgingly that Robertson won Mr Basketball during his senior year. Writers could not ignore his exploits because he was that good, just not good enough for Indiana’s basketball coach who would rather not have blacks on his team. That is how Robertson ended up at Cincinnati, and along with Bill Russell, Wilt Chanberlain, and Elgin Baylor propelled the NBA to new heights. Robertson always played with a chip on his shoulder. He did not trust the mainstream white authority, going back to his days in high school where his team was treated as second class citizens. He did become the NBA players union president, a role he took on for ten years, but he never developed into a charismatic superstar, always being guarded. Even after he reached the levels of superstardom, some of his early memories were too painful. Robertson declined to be interviewed for this book, and McCallum had to rely on the recollections of others, but he notes that this made the story of Robertson all the more mythological. Robertson would rather forget the painful memories.
As the NBA finals wind down, there is a strong possibility that a team from Indiana could win the championship. I doubt it is a boon for ratings. One player that the NBA neglects to mention in the same sentence as Indianapolis is Robertson, even though he is still probably the best player to come out of the state of Indiana. After leaving Crispus Attucks, he never looked back as he turned himself into the Big O, one of the best players in NBA history. A triple double in an entire season? Even his Royal Airness could not manage that but to be fair it is because many times he did not trust most of his teammates to shoot. Because he remained guarded, Robertson is rarely in the conversation with Jordan, Russell, LeBron, et al as to who is the GOAT although he well should be. Jack McCallum carved out a slice of history during the civil rights movement. He made basketball aficionados aware of events taking place in their own backyards that they may not have known about. It is one thing to write about the exploits of the Dream Team or 73-9 Warriors, but it is another to write about racism from the perspective of a white guy from the east coast. Always a captivating read, McCallum gives insight into Oscar Robertson, one of the NBA’s early superstars. Jordan will always be the GOAT, but Robertson definitely comes close.
4 stars
May 30, 2024
Disappointing. Hoping for insights into the great Oscar Robertson, instead I found myself trudging through a meandering, unfocused and condescending racial polemic. McCallum tells us the state of Indiana is/was racist, gives a race-based anecdote, then says again Indiana is racist. Wash, rinse, repeat. We know race was a problem and blacks got an unfair deal in the 50's. The story could have been told in a way that allowed a reader to draw that conclusion, without the author's need to trumpet his Anti-Racist credentials or unburden his own White Guilt...
March 22, 2024
If you've never read about Crispus Attucks High School's basketball history and you want to do so soon, this is a good option. It doesn't reveal anything that hasn't been covered in other books, documentaries, and articles, though. The upside is that it's a decent culmination of those other sources. The downside is that the story feels disjointed and awkward at times.
He frequently wrote, "more on that later," which left me hanging awkwardly every time. Details regarding the racism in Indiana and Indianapolis, although very important, didn't flow well with the story as presented and began to feel gratuitous and took away from the story of Attucks' achievements. He criticized Oscar Robertson, sometimes harshly, throughout the book which also detracted from the Attucks story (Attucks had one of the most dominant runs in Indiana high school basketball history from 1951 - 1959). Robertson chose not to be interviewed for the book.
If you want to learn a lot about Attucks history, I recommend Randy Roberts' book, "But They Can't Beat Us." If you have time, add James Madison's book, "The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland," Stanley Warren's "Crispus Attucks High School: Hail to the Green, Hail to the Gold," and the documentaries, "Attucks: The School That Opened A City" and "Something To Cheer About." If that's too much or copies are hard to find, read this book.
He frequently wrote, "more on that later," which left me hanging awkwardly every time. Details regarding the racism in Indiana and Indianapolis, although very important, didn't flow well with the story as presented and began to feel gratuitous and took away from the story of Attucks' achievements. He criticized Oscar Robertson, sometimes harshly, throughout the book which also detracted from the Attucks story (Attucks had one of the most dominant runs in Indiana high school basketball history from 1951 - 1959). Robertson chose not to be interviewed for the book.
If you want to learn a lot about Attucks history, I recommend Randy Roberts' book, "But They Can't Beat Us." If you have time, add James Madison's book, "The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland," Stanley Warren's "Crispus Attucks High School: Hail to the Green, Hail to the Gold," and the documentaries, "Attucks: The School That Opened A City" and "Something To Cheer About." If that's too much or copies are hard to find, read this book.
February 29, 2024
This book covers a story that deserves to be told. My concerns are not with what is told, but how it is told. The author is rarely satisfied to simply let the facts speak for themselves. He shows how racist and stupid things are, then says how racist and stupid they are. Irritating at first, it gets to be very condescending...as though readers can't be trusted to understand what is being portrayed. There are so many aspects of this story that are so fascinating...race in a state that prefers not to deal with it, the entire complicated character of Oscar Robertson...that you find the approach in telling it too frustrating to really appreciate.
April 12, 2024
I gave up after 100 pages. I wanted to read about Oscar Robertson's HS basketball team with context from that time in Indiana, especially in contrast to the fictional story in Hoosiers. My expectations were that the book would be maybe 70% about basketball and 30% about related history, racism, social issues, Indiana, etc. It's actually the opposite of that, much more about the latter than the former. For me it felt like a fragmented collection of stories about explicit and institutional racism in midcentury America with some occasional basketball interludes.
I did love this note on p. 21 about the origins of the word “Hoosier” - “One wades into the etymological quagmire of Hoosier with much trepidation. It is a maze with no exit. An entire wall at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis is devoted to the name, which shows up as early as 1855 as a term to describe Indianans. Do the research, but Madison says he's always liked James Whitcomb Riley's story that early settlers often had vicious brawls, after which a passerby would spot a dislodged organ on the floor and ask, "Whose ear?"
I did love this note on p. 21 about the origins of the word “Hoosier” - “One wades into the etymological quagmire of Hoosier with much trepidation. It is a maze with no exit. An entire wall at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis is devoted to the name, which shows up as early as 1855 as a term to describe Indianans. Do the research, but Madison says he's always liked James Whitcomb Riley's story that early settlers often had vicious brawls, after which a passerby would spot a dislodged organ on the floor and ask, "Whose ear?"
December 13, 2023
This was an excellent recount of the Crispus Attucks Tigers basketball team. Oscar Robertson and the Tigers broke ground when they won the Indiana State basketball championship in 1955. They were the first all black basketball team to win the state championship. The story and facts flowed well for a historical biography. The role of the Ku Klux Klan and racism of the time was prominent in the story and time period. Oscar Robertson and the Tigers were true underdogs as a result of the prejudices of the time. It was assumed that the truly good black basketball players of would join the Harlem Globetrotters, and I respected Robertson’s rejection of that idea. McCallum was able to navigate the sensitive topics and the points of view for all were well represented. This story has been swept under the rug for too long, and I’m glad that McCallum was able to write such a thorough retelling of this history.
November 6, 2024
Sadly, a wholly unreadable book. Boring, jumped around alot, and read like a textbook. I was very excited about the book, and I literally couldn't finish it. Disappointing.
May 11, 2025
Hoosiers the 1986 movie starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper painted a picture of 1950's Indiana high school basketball through a fictional tale of the Hickory High School basketball team battling from small town roots to win the Indiana state championship. The movie was modeled on the championship season of Milan in 1954 and paints a narrow picture of Indiana high school basketball and small town culture in the '50's.
In The Real Hoosiers former Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum tells a much broader and more deeply researched story of Indiana Basketball and culture in the 1950's. It is a story intertwined with cultural racism, not as codified as the deep south, but still well intrenched in Indianapolis and a state fearful of African American migration. The Central location in this tale is Crispus Attucks High School, founded in the 1920s as an all-black high school to address the rising population of African Amricans entering the Indianapolis public school system. While the school board justified their actions by buiding a brnd new buildng for Attucks and hiring a tremendously strong African American teaching staff, it was still founded on the principle of separate but equal institutions.
The main characters are Hall Famer Oscar Robertson and his coach Ray Crowe who led Attucks to state titles in 1955 and 1956, the first basketball titles for any school from the city of Indianapolis.
The rise of Attucks basketball is contrasted with stories of the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and their presence in Indiana government in the 1920s and one of the last and most northern lynchings that took place in Marion, Indiana in 1930.
McCallum also compares the rise of Attucks basketball to the seeds of the civil rights movement taking place concurrently in 1955 with the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Education, the brutal murder of Emmett Till and the actions of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Real Hoosiers is great journalism, well researched with McCallum deep mining the white and black press of the time and conducting numerous interviews of the players and citizens who were part of Attuck's rise.
One annoying device McCallum uses in this broad story that moves forward and backward in time is a teasing of information that will come later in the book with asides like, "that is a tale to come in chapter 6" or "but more to come on that later". McCallum uses this device at least 5-6 times in the book. I thought this is something a good editor could have heled McCallum eliminate.
In The Real Hoosiers former Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum tells a much broader and more deeply researched story of Indiana Basketball and culture in the 1950's. It is a story intertwined with cultural racism, not as codified as the deep south, but still well intrenched in Indianapolis and a state fearful of African American migration. The Central location in this tale is Crispus Attucks High School, founded in the 1920s as an all-black high school to address the rising population of African Amricans entering the Indianapolis public school system. While the school board justified their actions by buiding a brnd new buildng for Attucks and hiring a tremendously strong African American teaching staff, it was still founded on the principle of separate but equal institutions.
The main characters are Hall Famer Oscar Robertson and his coach Ray Crowe who led Attucks to state titles in 1955 and 1956, the first basketball titles for any school from the city of Indianapolis.
The rise of Attucks basketball is contrasted with stories of the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and their presence in Indiana government in the 1920s and one of the last and most northern lynchings that took place in Marion, Indiana in 1930.
McCallum also compares the rise of Attucks basketball to the seeds of the civil rights movement taking place concurrently in 1955 with the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Education, the brutal murder of Emmett Till and the actions of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Real Hoosiers is great journalism, well researched with McCallum deep mining the white and black press of the time and conducting numerous interviews of the players and citizens who were part of Attuck's rise.
One annoying device McCallum uses in this broad story that moves forward and backward in time is a teasing of information that will come later in the book with asides like, "that is a tale to come in chapter 6" or "but more to come on that later". McCallum uses this device at least 5-6 times in the book. I thought this is something a good editor could have heled McCallum eliminate.
March 21, 2024
For someone who doesn't get that into sports I freaking LOVE reading about them. The Real Hoosiers is magnificent, it's a breathtaking look at The Big O, Attucks, and basketball in Indiana. As a Hoosier, this content isn't brand new to me. I have read several other books on Hoosier basketball, and a young adult book on Attucks - however the framework of this book included so much background and depth that I learned a ton. This should be required reading. It talks in depth about how deep racism permeated in the Hoosier Heartland (on and off the court) and the hoops (see what I did there) that African American players faced just to play the game they love. I love Indiana and we've come a long way as a state - but boy... things were bad. It's amazing that we got such a great school and basketball team out of so much prejudice. Wonderful book, I loved all the footnotes and anecdotes!
February 16, 2025
300 hundred pages of a slog of a read. Author should have just said read The Big O and saved us all a lot of time.
Why is this author so angry? Talk about a white guilt complex. The author is clearly infected. It was his parents and grandparents generations that inflicted the despicable racial climate on Crispus Attucks type school.
These atrocities have been well documented by numerous other authors in the last 70 years and every American should read on that era because it was truly horrible. However, the constant digs and assertions this problem is an every day occurrence now is just plain wrong. Those of us in Gen X and later aren’t obsessed with race and don’t discriminate on this basis in American society. The author’s generation certainly did and hence they are always throwing it in everyone’s face as if we do to.
Bottom line. Don’t waste your valuable time on this book. I’m sure the first hand account by Oscar Robertson is a much better use of one’s time.
Why is this author so angry? Talk about a white guilt complex. The author is clearly infected. It was his parents and grandparents generations that inflicted the despicable racial climate on Crispus Attucks type school.
These atrocities have been well documented by numerous other authors in the last 70 years and every American should read on that era because it was truly horrible. However, the constant digs and assertions this problem is an every day occurrence now is just plain wrong. Those of us in Gen X and later aren’t obsessed with race and don’t discriminate on this basis in American society. The author’s generation certainly did and hence they are always throwing it in everyone’s face as if we do to.
Bottom line. Don’t waste your valuable time on this book. I’m sure the first hand account by Oscar Robertson is a much better use of one’s time.
April 6, 2024
While I liked the book, much of the focus was on historic racism in Indiana and Indianapolis, and I think more emphasis on the players during the Oscar Robertson years would have been helpful.
July 20, 2025
Having read two of Jack McCallum’s previous works, I was excited to partake in “The Real Hoosiers.” I loved “:07 Seconds or Less” and “Dream Team,” and as a native Hoosier who covers Indiana high school basketball, I figured I would thoroughly enjoy this work as well. Unfortunately, “The Real Hoosiers” is a sharp break from McCallum’s previous books.
I rarely write reviews, but I feel compelled to accurately portray what this book is actually about and how it is written, along with some glaring mistakes. As others have noted, TRH is meandering to say the least. The author hops from one topic to the next, sometimes with little relevancy. He will say things like “Its tie to the Attucks narrative is admittedly loose but….”. The problem is that the topic is rarely about the Crispus Attucks state championship teams of the 1950’s nor actual basketball. Attucks hoops probably consumes only 1/3 of the actual book. Racism in the state of Indiana in the 1920’s, about 30 years prior to the great Attucks teams, consumes over 1/3 of the book with the remaining portions devoted to quotes from Oscar Robertson from cited sources and other randomness. It almost seemed as if the author chose the topic and then did not know how to follow through with a cohesive piece after Robertson turned him down for an interview. The author’s hubris is evident in the Acknowledgments section when he stated that he “came to appreciate Oscar’s first-person absence.” Right. He also has an annoying penchant for consistently alluding to future chapters throughout the book, such as stating something to the effect of “more about that in chapter 12….”
McCallum also makes lazy mistakes such as referencing Lamar Odom as playing in the 1980’s (unless he is alluding to his elementary days!) and that Anderson High School legend Jumpin’ Johhny Wilson went on to attend Anderon University in South Carolina instead of Anderson University in……………Anderson, Indiana.
As a life-long Hoosier, I was at first thrilled to be reading about all the gyms, schools, and places that I have ventured in my life. But all the author did was discredit every Indiana institution, city, and school that he mentioned with claims of racism no matter how far apart those accusations took place from the alleged topic at hand, Crispus Attucks. He even included some harsh words for Oscar towards the end of the book.
One of those Indiana institutions criticized is the legendary movie “Hoosiers,” loosely based upon the great 1954 Milan state championship squad which happened to be an all-white team. McCallum says that the historical “favored status conveyed upon Milan was strictly about pigmentation.” Really? It has nothing to do with the fact that it was the smallest high school to ever win a state title with only 79 male students and it beat a behemoth in Muncie Central who boasted nearly 2,000 total students? In the movie the all-white Hickory team plays the nearly all-black South Bend Central squad for the championship. The author says that there is racial tension in the movie in the minds of many, because “at least in Indiana, it would be Oscar’s team that lost to the white kids”. Everyone who follows basketball in the state knows that in real-life it was Milan and Muncie Central (aka Hickory and South Bend Central) in the championship game and not Attucks. Are there any examples in the book of Hoosiers who think the movie incorrectly depicts negative racial stereotypes and that it is meant to be directed towards Attucks? Of course not. Although a movie about Crispus Attucks could be outstanding and is certainly deserving, McCallum feels that the movie should have been about a school (despite having its own very glaring obstacles) nearly 9 times the size of Milan. That would be a completely different type of story. McCallum even criticizes the Pacers for wearing replica Hickory jerseys a few seasons back.
Perhaps the most egregious, and nearly laugh-out-loud, example of the author trying his best to fit in a narrative that doesn’t exist is by comparing the ball hogging accusations directed towards Oscar Robertson after a 62-point game to that of former Milan standout Bobby Plump who held onto the ball for roughly four minutes in a state championship game to milk the clock. The point McCallum was attempting to make is that Oscar received some criticism while the white Plump did not, and both were examples of ball hogging. With so many examples of real racism to choose from, why look for a reason when none exists?
McCallum’s political leanings are also needlessly strewn throughout the book with ill-fitting cracks about Fox News, January 6th, and the Snopes fact-checked quote from President Trump about “fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville.
If you are wanting to read about racism in Indiana in the 1920’s, this is an excellent book. Seriously. If you are hoping for much else, look elsewhere.
I rarely write reviews, but I feel compelled to accurately portray what this book is actually about and how it is written, along with some glaring mistakes. As others have noted, TRH is meandering to say the least. The author hops from one topic to the next, sometimes with little relevancy. He will say things like “Its tie to the Attucks narrative is admittedly loose but….”. The problem is that the topic is rarely about the Crispus Attucks state championship teams of the 1950’s nor actual basketball. Attucks hoops probably consumes only 1/3 of the actual book. Racism in the state of Indiana in the 1920’s, about 30 years prior to the great Attucks teams, consumes over 1/3 of the book with the remaining portions devoted to quotes from Oscar Robertson from cited sources and other randomness. It almost seemed as if the author chose the topic and then did not know how to follow through with a cohesive piece after Robertson turned him down for an interview. The author’s hubris is evident in the Acknowledgments section when he stated that he “came to appreciate Oscar’s first-person absence.” Right. He also has an annoying penchant for consistently alluding to future chapters throughout the book, such as stating something to the effect of “more about that in chapter 12….”
McCallum also makes lazy mistakes such as referencing Lamar Odom as playing in the 1980’s (unless he is alluding to his elementary days!) and that Anderson High School legend Jumpin’ Johhny Wilson went on to attend Anderon University in South Carolina instead of Anderson University in……………Anderson, Indiana.
As a life-long Hoosier, I was at first thrilled to be reading about all the gyms, schools, and places that I have ventured in my life. But all the author did was discredit every Indiana institution, city, and school that he mentioned with claims of racism no matter how far apart those accusations took place from the alleged topic at hand, Crispus Attucks. He even included some harsh words for Oscar towards the end of the book.
One of those Indiana institutions criticized is the legendary movie “Hoosiers,” loosely based upon the great 1954 Milan state championship squad which happened to be an all-white team. McCallum says that the historical “favored status conveyed upon Milan was strictly about pigmentation.” Really? It has nothing to do with the fact that it was the smallest high school to ever win a state title with only 79 male students and it beat a behemoth in Muncie Central who boasted nearly 2,000 total students? In the movie the all-white Hickory team plays the nearly all-black South Bend Central squad for the championship. The author says that there is racial tension in the movie in the minds of many, because “at least in Indiana, it would be Oscar’s team that lost to the white kids”. Everyone who follows basketball in the state knows that in real-life it was Milan and Muncie Central (aka Hickory and South Bend Central) in the championship game and not Attucks. Are there any examples in the book of Hoosiers who think the movie incorrectly depicts negative racial stereotypes and that it is meant to be directed towards Attucks? Of course not. Although a movie about Crispus Attucks could be outstanding and is certainly deserving, McCallum feels that the movie should have been about a school (despite having its own very glaring obstacles) nearly 9 times the size of Milan. That would be a completely different type of story. McCallum even criticizes the Pacers for wearing replica Hickory jerseys a few seasons back.
Perhaps the most egregious, and nearly laugh-out-loud, example of the author trying his best to fit in a narrative that doesn’t exist is by comparing the ball hogging accusations directed towards Oscar Robertson after a 62-point game to that of former Milan standout Bobby Plump who held onto the ball for roughly four minutes in a state championship game to milk the clock. The point McCallum was attempting to make is that Oscar received some criticism while the white Plump did not, and both were examples of ball hogging. With so many examples of real racism to choose from, why look for a reason when none exists?
McCallum’s political leanings are also needlessly strewn throughout the book with ill-fitting cracks about Fox News, January 6th, and the Snopes fact-checked quote from President Trump about “fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville.
If you are wanting to read about racism in Indiana in the 1920’s, this is an excellent book. Seriously. If you are hoping for much else, look elsewhere.
March 25, 2025
In the mid-1950’s, an all-Black school, Crispus Attucks, won the Indiana state high school championship in back-to-back seasons. The previous season, it lost to Milan, a much smaller school and the game on which the film Hoosiers was based. Three championship game appearances and back-to-back titles was a major accomplishment in the time of school segregation, even though it had just been declared unconstitutional. The story of Crispus Attucks and its most famous player, Oscar Robertson, is told in this book by Jack McCallum.
The story of Crispus Attucks cannot be told without background information on the social and racial climate of Indiana and its capital, Indianapolis, at that time. While the book does have enough basketball text to be considered a book on the sport, it does spend a lot of time on the subject of racism in Indiana – mostly off the court, but it does make its way into the game as well, such as several references to white players and teams getting favorable calls from referees. At times, the text feels a bit heavy-handed and repetitive – but that doesn’t take away the need to tell those stories, nor does it make the message any less meaningful.
Having not previously read any memoir or book on Oscar Robertson aside from his involvement in the early days of the NBA players’ union, I found some of the stories on him to be the best parts of the book. Here, McCallum did some of his best work and research since Robertson declined to be interviewed for the book. Nonetheless, a reader will be able to capture not only the greatness he was already showing on the court, but also the complicated personality of the young man. Having learned a lot about Robertson in this book when McCallum could not speak to him says a lot about the research done to portray “The Big O”.
Some parts of the book were a slog to get through and other parts were page-turning exercises because I couldn’t get enough. That averages out to a book that was a good one to pick but will not be one I will be reading again.
I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The story of Crispus Attucks cannot be told without background information on the social and racial climate of Indiana and its capital, Indianapolis, at that time. While the book does have enough basketball text to be considered a book on the sport, it does spend a lot of time on the subject of racism in Indiana – mostly off the court, but it does make its way into the game as well, such as several references to white players and teams getting favorable calls from referees. At times, the text feels a bit heavy-handed and repetitive – but that doesn’t take away the need to tell those stories, nor does it make the message any less meaningful.
Having not previously read any memoir or book on Oscar Robertson aside from his involvement in the early days of the NBA players’ union, I found some of the stories on him to be the best parts of the book. Here, McCallum did some of his best work and research since Robertson declined to be interviewed for the book. Nonetheless, a reader will be able to capture not only the greatness he was already showing on the court, but also the complicated personality of the young man. Having learned a lot about Robertson in this book when McCallum could not speak to him says a lot about the research done to portray “The Big O”.
Some parts of the book were a slog to get through and other parts were page-turning exercises because I couldn’t get enough. That averages out to a book that was a good one to pick but will not be one I will be reading again.
I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
November 9, 2023
The Attucks, a nonfiction book that shares the story of the beginning of black basketball. This novel is all about Ray Crowe and his journey with The Crispus Attucks highschool basketball team. I am not a big reader and never have been but we needed a book for class and I have alot of interest in sports and I like history as well. This book combined these two topics very well and made the book interesting.
The Crispus Attucks highschool basketball team was an all black team that was really good but was not allowed to play in any white basketball leagues until later in the 1900’s. Around 1943 Crispus Attucks first joined the Indiana state tournament and in 1948 is when Ray Crowe and all the action came. Ray Crowe was the varsity coach for the Crispus Attucks and in his first year coaching he came very close to winning the state tournament. After this they had the biggest fan base raising enough money at games to buy them uniforms and basketballs. Ray Crowe would go on to coach, winning the 1955 and 56’ state tournament. After this he retired from being the varsity coach and got a job as a public official in Indiana.
The book ended very well telling us how Willie Gardner and the rest of the Attucks star players went on to live. Willie Gardner went on to play with the Harlem Globetrotters starting as a freshman. Willie Gardner was considered to be the best player in the country at the time. The best part of the book was when Willie Gardner was voted ineligible to play in the 1955 Indiana state tournament and the Attucks won the tournament either way.
The book was very interesting and I thought that it was a good read. It was very knowledgeable and taught a lot about sports and history all in one. I think a lot of people would enjoy this book even if you do not like sports. People who play sports would find this book very interesting because it has a lot of history of basketball in it. People who like history would also like this book because it is set in a very racist time so that will give some history lessons throughout the book.
The Crispus Attucks highschool basketball team was an all black team that was really good but was not allowed to play in any white basketball leagues until later in the 1900’s. Around 1943 Crispus Attucks first joined the Indiana state tournament and in 1948 is when Ray Crowe and all the action came. Ray Crowe was the varsity coach for the Crispus Attucks and in his first year coaching he came very close to winning the state tournament. After this they had the biggest fan base raising enough money at games to buy them uniforms and basketballs. Ray Crowe would go on to coach, winning the 1955 and 56’ state tournament. After this he retired from being the varsity coach and got a job as a public official in Indiana.
The book ended very well telling us how Willie Gardner and the rest of the Attucks star players went on to live. Willie Gardner went on to play with the Harlem Globetrotters starting as a freshman. Willie Gardner was considered to be the best player in the country at the time. The best part of the book was when Willie Gardner was voted ineligible to play in the 1955 Indiana state tournament and the Attucks won the tournament either way.
The book was very interesting and I thought that it was a good read. It was very knowledgeable and taught a lot about sports and history all in one. I think a lot of people would enjoy this book even if you do not like sports. People who play sports would find this book very interesting because it has a lot of history of basketball in it. People who like history would also like this book because it is set in a very racist time so that will give some history lessons throughout the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2024
A slightly ramshackle (there's a lot of "we will get to this in chapter 17"-type reader advisories) but big-hearted voyage through midcentury Indiana, Crispus Attucks HS (a monument to 1920s segregation that attracted, for a time, a truly world-class faculty), the Indianapolis school that won three state titles in five years, lost one final, and lost in the semis to the team that lost to Milan, the real-life Hoosiers team. (Solid half-chapter on the problematic, and unsurprising, racial politics of that movie, along with a bunch of trivia after the analysis ends.) And sort of Oscar Robertson, the structuring absence of the book who never talked to McCallum--which in itself feels like a big deal, given his history as a basketball writer and how plugged-in he is, especially with older former NBA stars. Obviously, a tighter rein on the narrative would have been nice--there's a whole section on the Klan in 1920s Indiana, followed by the admission that it's not all that relevant for 1950s basketball--but I admire the author's eagerness to show us everything he read and learned (he digs into what sound like some epic Hoosier histories, appears to have read both Middletown and its sequel, and talks to several of the historians, who I bet loved the opportunity to talk about 1950s Indiana history and culture) and to wander around the city, trying to unearth the courts where Robertson learned to play (probably annexed by IUPUI, where I once almost interviewed for a job). So, yeah, a bit of a mess, and the narrative is...sporadic, let's say, interrupted as it is by explorations of other towns and the story of basketball and a bunch of other things. But ultimately it felt to me that the book effectively submerges the reader in the stream of regional history and the specific politics of this school and city--like, say, Playing Through the Whistle or Friday Night Lights or other sports anthropologies, it gives us a world in a game.
December 14, 2024
The Real Hoosiers is a fantastic read from Jack McCallum. He clearly goes to great lengths to explain the intensity of Indiana high school basketball, the interesting ways that residents of Indiana at that time viewed racism in their state, how Crispus Attucks the school came to be built, and that the Hickory team portrayed in Hoosiers was actually a basketball power with a rich history and several state championships.
While Oscar Robertson's name is in the title, I wouldn't entirely say that he is sole focus of the book. His story is compelling and fascinating. It's also quite a contrast to now when players of his caliber would be turning pro at 18, have massive social media followings, endorsement deals, and wouldn't remotely entertain college basketball as an option. What you glean clearly is that Robertson's time in Indiana, and at the University of Cincinnati (though in far less detail) shaped his thinking and personality to this day. While he may be revered in Indiana high school lore and certainly at UC, don't expect a romanticized version of life growing up from him.
What keeps me from giving this book 5 stars is that it reads more as a history of racism in Indiana than a book about Robertson, Crispus Attucks, and the Hickory team portrayed in Hoosiers. I was certainly fascinated by all of it, and thoroughly enjoyed the book, it's not entirely a book about high school basketball in Indiana. While it is quite necessary to give context and a backdrop to what times were like back then, to many, that can come across as the primary focus of the book.
I still highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Indiana high school basketball.
While Oscar Robertson's name is in the title, I wouldn't entirely say that he is sole focus of the book. His story is compelling and fascinating. It's also quite a contrast to now when players of his caliber would be turning pro at 18, have massive social media followings, endorsement deals, and wouldn't remotely entertain college basketball as an option. What you glean clearly is that Robertson's time in Indiana, and at the University of Cincinnati (though in far less detail) shaped his thinking and personality to this day. While he may be revered in Indiana high school lore and certainly at UC, don't expect a romanticized version of life growing up from him.
What keeps me from giving this book 5 stars is that it reads more as a history of racism in Indiana than a book about Robertson, Crispus Attucks, and the Hickory team portrayed in Hoosiers. I was certainly fascinated by all of it, and thoroughly enjoyed the book, it's not entirely a book about high school basketball in Indiana. While it is quite necessary to give context and a backdrop to what times were like back then, to many, that can come across as the primary focus of the book.
I still highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Indiana high school basketball.
February 11, 2025
Probably about 3.75 stars, actually, which interestingly is right where it averages here on Goodreads, so it rounds up to 4.
First, the first phrase of the subhed should indicate this book would be about more than Oscar Robertson. That said, it's true that nothing in the subhed says specifically that's about racism in Indiana in general or in high school hoops there in particular, but that should be easy enough to parse out.
Most of Indiana's racism I already knew about, including the strength of the Second Klan there in general and the Marion lynching in particular. I do like the line of "the South's middle finger to the North," which I had not seen before.
Set within that is racism in Indiana high school sports, which barred segregated high schools from Indiana playoffs until just a few years before Oscar, in the time of his older brother. Set within that is the story of Crispus Attucks and northwest Indianapolis.
I thought McCallum went too easy on his myth-busting on Hoosiers. If it's not a documentary, it's at least a docudrama that ultimately is about Milan High, as the last shot in the movie is from the exact shot where Bobby Plump fired away. So, it can thus still be dinged for being misleading.
And, the prose at times is some Venn diagram overlap of moderately cliched, moderately hackneyed and moderately purplish.
A sad side note, and sad not on anything McCallum gets wrong. That's about Robertson's self-isolation, not just from today's NBA, but things like celebrating Attucks today and such. Even some of his teammates from then reference the chip he seems to have on his shoulder.
First, the first phrase of the subhed should indicate this book would be about more than Oscar Robertson. That said, it's true that nothing in the subhed says specifically that's about racism in Indiana in general or in high school hoops there in particular, but that should be easy enough to parse out.
Most of Indiana's racism I already knew about, including the strength of the Second Klan there in general and the Marion lynching in particular. I do like the line of "the South's middle finger to the North," which I had not seen before.
Set within that is racism in Indiana high school sports, which barred segregated high schools from Indiana playoffs until just a few years before Oscar, in the time of his older brother. Set within that is the story of Crispus Attucks and northwest Indianapolis.
I thought McCallum went too easy on his myth-busting on Hoosiers. If it's not a documentary, it's at least a docudrama that ultimately is about Milan High, as the last shot in the movie is from the exact shot where Bobby Plump fired away. So, it can thus still be dinged for being misleading.
And, the prose at times is some Venn diagram overlap of moderately cliched, moderately hackneyed and moderately purplish.
A sad side note, and sad not on anything McCallum gets wrong. That's about Robertson's self-isolation, not just from today's NBA, but things like celebrating Attucks today and such. Even some of his teammates from then reference the chip he seems to have on his shoulder.
December 18, 2023
The Real Hoosiers was an in depth look at the legendary Crispus Attucks basketball teams and the events leading up to their legendary run of seasons.
I came into this book expecting it to be purely about basketball and Oscar Robertson. I was pleasantly surprised in the best way possible when I realized that I was also able to learn about the history of Crispus Attucks HS itself, along with the heartbreaking racial divide history of Indianapolis and Indiana as a whole.
I found the book to be extremely informative and nice slow burn with great buildup to the discussion surrounding Oscar Robertsons high school career. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone that might have even a slight interest in basketball or history, as it provides a healthy dose of both aspects.
This book was provided to me in exchange for a review but I would have purchased and read it regardless. I have enjoyed everything that I’ve read from Jack McCallum up to this point and will continue to seek out his work as I see new releases coming
I came into this book expecting it to be purely about basketball and Oscar Robertson. I was pleasantly surprised in the best way possible when I realized that I was also able to learn about the history of Crispus Attucks HS itself, along with the heartbreaking racial divide history of Indianapolis and Indiana as a whole.
I found the book to be extremely informative and nice slow burn with great buildup to the discussion surrounding Oscar Robertsons high school career. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone that might have even a slight interest in basketball or history, as it provides a healthy dose of both aspects.
This book was provided to me in exchange for a review but I would have purchased and read it regardless. I have enjoyed everything that I’ve read from Jack McCallum up to this point and will continue to seek out his work as I see new releases coming
May 5, 2024
This is a non-fiction account of the success of the Crispus Attucks High School and its place in Indianapolis history as well as in the history of Indiana high school basketball. The book focuses on the two state championships won by Attucks in the mid-1950's. The team was led by one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Oscar Robertson. Indianapolis in the the mid-1950's was a completely segregated city. Attucks was an all-Black high school. It was an enormous achievement for the school to be the state champion of Indiana in 1955 and 1956. This success, according to the premise of the book, helped to open up Indianapolis. There were horrific racist stories related in the book, including a lynching in an Indiana town. The Ku Klux Klan was very significant in Indiana history, particularly during the time focused on in the book.
There is a film documentary done in 2016 titled - "Attucks - a school that opened a city." I look forward to watching. It was done for PBS: https://www.pbs.org/video/wfyi-educat...
There is a film documentary done in 2016 titled - "Attucks - a school that opened a city." I look forward to watching. It was done for PBS: https://www.pbs.org/video/wfyi-educat...
March 16, 2024
I enjoyed most of this book very much, especially as a lover of Hoosier HS basketball. McCallum tells the story well, even if it is hardly "hidden." Of course I have some beefs. The book is quite unfocused--it seems to have no thesis, and thus no point. Though the retelling of great stories is entertaining enough.
McCallum also inserts his own sarcastic opinions far too much. Easy to do from one's moral high ground 75 years later, I suppose, but obnoxious nonetheless. For instance, why would you ever use the word "trash" to describe a historical character. Totally unnecessary. And his tiptoeing around racial epithets is eye-rolling at times.
There are also a few dumb mistakes. Confusing Anderson University in South Carolina with the one in Indiana, for instance (in a book about Indiana!). And probably others that I missed. Speaking of missing, what I would have given to be at the 1955 semistate night game between Attucks and Muncie Central!
McCallum also inserts his own sarcastic opinions far too much. Easy to do from one's moral high ground 75 years later, I suppose, but obnoxious nonetheless. For instance, why would you ever use the word "trash" to describe a historical character. Totally unnecessary. And his tiptoeing around racial epithets is eye-rolling at times.
There are also a few dumb mistakes. Confusing Anderson University in South Carolina with the one in Indiana, for instance (in a book about Indiana!). And probably others that I missed. Speaking of missing, what I would have given to be at the 1955 semistate night game between Attucks and Muncie Central!
June 14, 2025
Jack -
Thanks for a hidden history of hoops in Indianapolis, Indiana and it seems a little more relevant with Rick Carlisle's comments during this playoff run of the Pacers and Oscar making an appearance at the Finals that include the 2025 Pacers.
I grew up after Oscar, but appreciate his talent and now have a much bigger appreciation for what he experiences and accomplished throughout his life and if possible am even more of a fan of his and him as a person.
I enjoyed learning about his story and wish our country's history could be different and people would not have to experience racism. I do think writers who share the struggles and past can help us change and hope your book does help us change - particularly through the great sport of basketball. We do have more work to do and I hope future generations can be treated with more respect.
Thanks for a hidden history of hoops in Indianapolis, Indiana and it seems a little more relevant with Rick Carlisle's comments during this playoff run of the Pacers and Oscar making an appearance at the Finals that include the 2025 Pacers.
I grew up after Oscar, but appreciate his talent and now have a much bigger appreciation for what he experiences and accomplished throughout his life and if possible am even more of a fan of his and him as a person.
I enjoyed learning about his story and wish our country's history could be different and people would not have to experience racism. I do think writers who share the struggles and past can help us change and hope your book does help us change - particularly through the great sport of basketball. We do have more work to do and I hope future generations can be treated with more respect.
December 15, 2024
Very interesting read about a team that is overlooked thanks to the popularity of the movie "Hoosiers" and the myth associated with the story. The Big O was a force to be reckoned with, even in high school, and McCallum does a solid job in illustrating the relationship he had with his team, his coach and his community. The book is more than just the story of Crispus Attucks High School and their championship teams of 1955 and 1956. It is a historical analysis of Indiana and Indianapolis specifically during that time period, both good and the exceptionally bad. Well worth the read for any historian or basketball fan.
January 26, 2025
A great history about Indiana high school basketball, the state's race relations, and the legacy of the 1950s Crispus Attucks basketball teams, featuring Oscar Robertson.
McCallum, a former SI writer, delivers a great history lesson, on sports, society, culture, politics, journalism and education in the Hoosier state.
Having read many basketball biographies - Kareem, Dr. J, Walton - I've always heard of the Big O. Dan Patrick always says Robertson was the best basketball player he's ever seen.
This book shed some light on how important a player Robertson was not only on the court, but how NBA players are treated today.
www.thebrianlennonshow.substack.com
McCallum, a former SI writer, delivers a great history lesson, on sports, society, culture, politics, journalism and education in the Hoosier state.
Having read many basketball biographies - Kareem, Dr. J, Walton - I've always heard of the Big O. Dan Patrick always says Robertson was the best basketball player he's ever seen.
This book shed some light on how important a player Robertson was not only on the court, but how NBA players are treated today.
www.thebrianlennonshow.substack.com
April 8, 2024
As a life-long Hoosier who genuinely doesn't know a single thing about basketball or how it's played (and who, just 2 weeks ago at a MARCH family gathering responded with "I don't even know which sport is in season" when someone asked which teams were playing), this was very interesting!
A few spots dragged a bit for me (mostly because I don't recognize any of the names, etc.), but I have of course seen the movie "Hoosiers" a few times over my 30+ years, and I'm fascinated with certain aspects of Indiana's history.
A few spots dragged a bit for me (mostly because I don't recognize any of the names, etc.), but I have of course seen the movie "Hoosiers" a few times over my 30+ years, and I'm fascinated with certain aspects of Indiana's history.
December 21, 2024
An informative read about a Hoosier team that should have been made into a movie. There was great detail covering racism in many different Indiana towns.
I enjoyed the story being told and finally knowing where the name Crispus Attucks HS came from. And hearing about where life took some of the men.
In a time when people were openly racist and it was accepted, I am glad that I didn’t live during this time. Being a Hoosier, I enjoyed recognizing some of the locations, but was very uncomfortable reading what people lived through.
I enjoyed the story being told and finally knowing where the name Crispus Attucks HS came from. And hearing about where life took some of the men.
In a time when people were openly racist and it was accepted, I am glad that I didn’t live during this time. Being a Hoosier, I enjoyed recognizing some of the locations, but was very uncomfortable reading what people lived through.
March 21, 2025
This is a really good book if you want a lot of historical context on the movie and the years that followed or on Oscar Robertson. If you’re hoping to find something that’s personal and intimate with Indiana or Oscar or Hoosiers, this isn’t it. I would also like to point out that the author uses Indy to discuss both the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis. No one does that. If you say Indy, you mean Indianapolis. It’s fairly obvious from minor things like this the author is not a local and doesn’t attempt to enmesh the story in the heart of the location.
April 3, 2024
I went to school in Indiana from 1975 to 1978, the first extended amount of time I lived outside of New York. I heard lots of stories about pervasive racism that was just a part of life in Indiana. Living in Bloomington the stories seemed far fetched.
This book tells an incredible story through the eyes of the people at Christmas Attucks High School, whose basketball team was led by the great Oscar Robertson.
Worth reading, even if you aren't a basketball fan. A great book.
This book tells an incredible story through the eyes of the people at Christmas Attucks High School, whose basketball team was led by the great Oscar Robertson.
Worth reading, even if you aren't a basketball fan. A great book.
October 6, 2024
This has several things that I love to read about, think about, and talk about: basketball, my home state, and history that is critical of what I learned growing up. The story of Oscar Robertson and the Crispus Attucks basketball teams of the 50s was compelling and well told. The truth about Indiana and its complicated past with race is something that many Hoosier natives would rather not talk about, but I was happy to understand it a little better.
April 4, 2025
I grew up idolizing The Big O. He remains my all-time favorite basketball player. I already knew a lot about Oscar the basketball player, but McCallum's account of the overt, blatant racial prejudice that he faced as a kid almost brought me to tears. Oscar never flinched, never lost his dignity, never stooped to the level of those who hated him for the crime of being great at basketball while being Black. The Real Hoosiers helps us to remember, to empathize, and to aspire to do better.
October 30, 2024
Reading this book and Fever in the Heartland this year has been eye opening.
Any Hoosier (and beyond) should read this book. It will frame the love of basketball in the state and how history, per usual, has white washed the history of basketball in the state.
Indiana isn’t just corn fields, and this book has captured that well.
This book is great. Must read.
Any Hoosier (and beyond) should read this book. It will frame the love of basketball in the state and how history, per usual, has white washed the history of basketball in the state.
Indiana isn’t just corn fields, and this book has captured that well.
This book is great. Must read.
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